The number of pickpocketing cases has been soaring, with a sixfold increase in eight years being the latest statistics coming out of Europe, but it remains one of the most difficult crimes to solve it seems.

Replying to a Parliamentary Question by European Union member Malta's Member of Parliament, Glenn Bedingfield, Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia revealed that an average of 25 people a year are arraigned, a total of 116 between 2013 and the first nine months of September.

However, a story published in theTimes of Maltalast March puts these figures into a very different context: there were 2,447 cases of pickpocketing reported to the police in 2016, but only 29 arraignments – barely one in a 100, although some arraignments may have been for multiple cases.

Malta has become something of a pioneer in its efforts to address growing numbers of pickpockets and reported crimes. The growth in pickpocketing across Europe is common knowledge among affected locals but very little has been made clear as to the precise extent of the problem, nor does it seem to be an issue top politicians are willing to address publicly. Malta has bucked that trend and in doing so, allowed the public to understand the true brevity of the situation.

Barely 1 in 100 cases solved, that's 1% of the cases actually reported end in arrest and estimates are that less than half of pickpocketing cases end up in the hands of the police in the first place.